THESE arenow the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them
that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.

2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons
of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.

3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of
Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an
hundred and fifty.

4 Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son
of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.

5 Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel,
and with him three hundred males.

6 Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of
Jonathan, and with him fifty males.

7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son
of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.

8 And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the
son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.

9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel,
and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of
Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.

11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son
of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.

12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son
of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.

13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names
are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.

14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud,
and with them seventy males.

15 And I gathered them together to the river
that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed
the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah,
and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah,
and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.

17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo
the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo,
and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should
bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.

18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they
brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the
son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

19 And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the
sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

20 Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the
princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty
Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river
of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right
way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

22 For I was ashamed to require of the king
a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because
we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all
them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all
them that forsake him.

23 So we fasted and besought our God for this:
and he was entreated of us.

24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the
priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the
gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which
the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present,
had offered:

26 I even weighed unto their hand six hundred
and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of
gold an hundred talents;

27 Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand
drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.

28 And I said unto them, Ye are holy
unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold
are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.

29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye
weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief
of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the
LORD.

30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight
of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem
unto the house of our God.

31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava
on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the
hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy,
and of such as lay in wait by the way.

32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there
three days.

33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and
the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth
the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas;
and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui,
Levites;

34 By number and by weight of every one:
and all the weight was written at that time.

35 Also the children of those that had
been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings
unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams,
seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this
was a burnt offering unto the LORD.

36 And they delivered the king's commissions
unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and
they furthered the people, and the house of God.